Football: Mike MacIntyre has CU Buffs pushing the pace

New CU coach pleased with first scrimmage

There isn't much standing around at Colorado football practices this spring, unless you count the few media members and the few dozen fans and family members who show up each day to watch.

The Buffs are moving at a much faster tempo than ever before under first-year coach Mike MacIntyre.

It's no surprise. When he was hired by CU in December, MacIntyre joined a Pac-12 Conference featuring numerous teams that like to play no-huddle, fast-paced offense. MacIntyre has said repeatedly he is counting on facing at least eight teams in the fall who play that style and he wants his defense to be prepared for it. It just so happens that MacIntyre generally likes playing at that pace, too.

This is college football 2013 after all. More and more teams are moving in this direction in an effort to maximize the numbers of possessions and plays they get hoping to score more points.

The Buffs scrimmaged for the first time with that tempo Friday evening in Folsom Field and MacIntyre liked most of what he saw.

"I think they did a good job today," he said. "I think it got the defense a little bit early. We've been practicing with them, but the defense, it's a little bit different sometimes because they're all having to run to the ball every snap.

"Then I thought the defense started picking it up and looking around and started understanding."

The tempo is the most obvious difference between spring practices at Colorado under MacIntyre and spring practices of the past two years under former coach Jon Embree. MacIntyre says his team will ultimately be able to play at any tempo when the season arrives.

"Getting the playbook down is not that bad because they're kind of taking it slower than usual, but the tempo takes a lot to get used to," center Gus Handler said. "...A lot less standing around and more just go, go, go, go, go. Always doing something."

Wait a second. Didn't the Buffs spend last spring and summer practicing behind closed doors in an attempt to keep secret a no-huddle offense? That offense ultimately foundered fast in 2012 because CU lacked the personnel to make it work and it was back to huddling for much of the season. So how can this be that much different?

"This seems a lot quicker and maybe because we're not used to it and last spring we had a little more guys, but this definitely seems a lot quicker," Handler said. "We're going no-huddle, but this is get up to the line, make your call and go. Whereas last year it was no-huddle, but it was more get settled to the line and then go."

New strength coach Dave Forman did his best to prepare the Buffs for the new way forward in the limited time he had to work with the team after being hired in January. He increased the running they did and has plans to add even more running to the summer regimen.

But the tempo of the game isn't the only change this spring.

"I think there is a lot of teaching going on, but we're still moving at a fast pace," linebacker Paul Vigo said. "... What I've noticed with this staff is definitely preparation and then intensity. We're always going, always going and I think everybody feels it. They plan on having us be one of the best conditioned teams in the Pac-12 and I definitely understand why San Jose State was a well-conditioned team."

The tempo hasn't prevented players from learning the system relatively quickly. Obviously, there is just a fraction of the total offense and defense installed at this point, but coaches seem to be generally pleased with how the players are adjusting.

This is the third time in quarterback Nick Hirschman's career that he has spent a spring learning a new offense, new calls, new responsibilities. He said he felt good with how he performed in the first scrimmage and believes his teammates are learning quickly.

"Offensively, I think the O-line has picked it up incredibly fast and incredibly well," Hirschman said. "They've already been able to sort out blitzes and all that kind of stuff on the fly, which is incredibly impressive. The receivers learned all the signals really fast. They know where to lineup and how to communicate to each other. The quarterbacks, I can only speak for myself, but I feel like I have the protections down and the concepts down and now it's just a matter of repping them."

The Buffs have the next three days off before returning to practice Tuesday afternoon. They will practice three times next week, including another Friday evening scrimmage, before taking a week off for spring break.

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